Related Speeches & Audio (10)

Speaking from U.S. Army-controlled Tokyo Radio, Lt. Gen. Jonathan "Skinny" Wainwright, who commanded American and Filipino forces in the last days of Corregidor and Bataan in 1942, expresses his gratitude for his release. On August 20, 1945, he was found alive in a Japanese prison camp in Manchuria, where he'd been held captive for nearly four years.

An NBC news report summarizes the events of August 15, 1945, when Emperor Hirohito of Japan announced that his country will accept unconditional surrender and called for a ceasefire that formally ended World War II.

Following the 1943 Big Four meetings in Teheran and Cairo, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers a Christmas Eve broadcast promising the nation that they can look forward to peace, though at a high cost.

On September 2, 1945, aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay, World War II comes to a close when Japanese officials sign the unconditional surrender. Gen. Douglas MacArthur presides over the signing and delivers a short speech on the momentous occasion.